Head of administration Viktor Mikhailov was appointed by president Yeltsin in October 1991. He had previously served as chairman of the oblast executive committee. His candidacy was approved by the All-Russian Coordinating Council seeking to elect pro-Yeltsin governors.
The incumbent's main challenger is Valentin Tsvetkov. Tsvetkov, general director of a joint-stock company, was elected to the State Duma in the December parliamentary election from a Magadan single-member constituency, where he joined the Russian Regions faction. In 1993, he won a seat in the Federation Council, whereas Mikhailov failed to be elected. From April 1994 he chaired the Federation Council Committee for Affairs of the North and Numerically Small Peoples. Another candidate is Valentin Kobets, the vice president of a Magadan silver and gold company.
Communist-backed candidate Igor Yurov, the leader of the regional branch of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, is considered by local analysts to have little change of winning.
Duma Chairman -- Petr Lisetskii (elected in June 1994)
Magadan Oblast is located in Russia's Far East, running north from its capital Magadan along the northern shore of the Sea of Okhotsk and eastwards to the Taigonos Peninsula and the middle reaches of the Omolon River. Apart from swampy taiga along the coastline, most of the rugged mountainous area is covered by tundra on permafrost soil. Economically, apart from some fishing to the south, the most important industry is mining, especially of gold and other non-ferrous metals, mainly around the upper reaches of the Kolyma River. There is no railway; the main internal communication is a road from Magadan city to the Sakha Republic that crosses the Kolyma gold fields.
Of the indigenous peoples, traditionally living on reindeer breeding, most numerous are the Even (Lamut), who belong to the widespread Manchu-Tungus language family. In 1992, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, formerly part of the oblast, obtained administrative independence from Magadan Oblast.
1995 Population: 279,300 (0.19% of Russian total)
Industrial production as percentage of all Russian production (Jan.-Aug. 1995): 0.27%
Agricultural production as percentage of all Russian production (1994): 0.17%
Average personal income index in July 1995: 218 (Russia as a whole = 100)
Price basket index in July 1995: 173 (Russia = 100)
Average back wages owed per person (September 1995): 412,500 rubles (Russian average = 37,100)
Urban population: 87.0% (Russia overall: 73.0%)
Student population (1993): 93 per 10,000 (Russia overall: 171/10,000)
Pensioner population (1994): 14.91%
Percent of population with higher education (1989 census): 13.5% (Russia overall: 11.3%)
Percent of population working in (1993):
Number of telephones per 100 families (1993):
According to a survey by Bank Austria, the oblast was ranked 64th among Russia's 89 regions on investment climate.
1996 Presidential Election
| Candidate | Turnout in First Round | Turnout in Second Round |
| Yeltsin | 36.93% | 63.57% |
| Zyuganov | 16.04% | 27.54% |
| Lebed | 23.86% | |
| Zhirinovsky | 10.91% | NA |
| Yavlinskii | 6.15% | NA |
| Overall Turnout (Magadan Oblast) | 64.78% | 62.27% |
| Overall Turnout (Russia) | 69.67% | 68.79% |
1995 Parliamentary Election
| Party | Result |
| Communist Party of the Russian Federation | 12.57% |
| Liberal Democratic Party of Russia | 22.32% |
| Our Home Is Russia | 8.16% |
| Yabloko | 7.63% |
| Party of Worker's Self-Government | 6.81% |
| Congress of Russian Communities | 5.44% |
| Women of Russia | 5.24% |
| Communists -- Workers' Russia | 2.80% |
| In single-member districts | |
| Party | Seats |
| Independent | 1 |
| Turnout in Magadan Oblast | 60.27% |
| Turnout in Russia | 64.37% |
1993 Constitutional Referendum
| Yes | 66.84% |
| No | 30.66% |
1993 Parliamentary Election
| Party | Result |
| Liberal Democratic Party of Russia | 29.21% |
| Yabloko | 16.45% |
| Russia's Choice | 14.39% |
| Women of Russia | 9.54% |
| Democratic Party of Russia | 7.31% |
| Communist Party of the Russian Federation | 5.99% |
| Party of Russian Unity and Concord | 5.81% |
| Russian Movement for Democratic Reforms | 5.11% |
| Agrarian Party of Russia | 1.11% |
| In single-member districts | |
| Party | Seats |
| New Regional Policy | 1 |
| Turnout in Magadan Oblast | 46.86% |
| Turnout in Russia overall | 54.34% |
1991 Presidential Election
| Candidate | Result |
| Yeltsin | 50.43% |
| Ryzhkov | 12.29% |
| Tuleev | 9.17% |
| Zhirinovsky | 9.01% |
| Makashov | 7.67% |
| Bakatin | 6.24% |
| Turnout in Magadan Oblast | 66.84% |
| Turnout in Russia | 76.66% |
Data compiled by Silja Haas and Anna Paretskaya.
Sources
Goroda Rossii [Cities of Russia], Moscow: Bolshaya Rossiiskaya Entsiklopediya, 1994
Rossiiskie regiony nakanune vyborov-95 [Russian regions on the eve of 1995 elections], Moscow: Yuridicheskaya Literatura, 1995.
Itogi vyborov 17 dekabrya 1995 goda po regionam [Results of the 17 December 1995 elections, regional breakdown], Moscow: Panorama, 1996.
Vybory deputatov Gosudarstvennoi Dumy 1995 [State Duma elections 1995], Moscow: Central Electoral Commission, 1996.
S.A. Nagaev and A.Woergoetter: Regional Risk Rating in Russia, Vienna: Bank Austria, 1995.